Trust
by Zeea
Summary: Joan is given another mission from God, and it effects Grace more than she knows.


Title: Trust  
  
Author: Zia  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Summary: God sends Joan on another mission, that has more of an effect on Grace than she realizes  
  
Disclaimer: Sadly, not mine.  
  
Author's Note: This idea came to me while I was trying to sleep (insomnia has been plaguing me lately.) Decided that writing was better than laying in bed.  
  
---  
  
Joan walked outside of the school, looking for Adam, so they could walk home together. "Do you like to swim?" Someone asked and Joan raised an eyebrow and lifted her head up.  
  
"I guess. why?"  
  
"I want you to go to the lake this weekend." Joan frowned at the older teenage version of God.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Take Adam, Luke, and Grace. But make it a surprise for them."  
  
"Okay. do I get a reason behind it?"  
  
"Just trust me." Joan scowled at God, then smiled when she heard Adam.  
  
"Jane, what's up yo? Are we waiting for Grace?" Joan shook her head and took Adam's hand.  
  
"No, let's just go." Together they walked away from the school and headed down the street. "Would you want to go someplace with me this weekend?"  
  
"Cha, yeah. Where are we going?"  
  
"I. can't tell you. But Grace and Luke are coming too."  
  
"Cool."  
  
----  
  
Early the next morning, after talking it over with her parents, Joan dragged Luke out to the car, and drove to pick up Adam, then Grace.  
  
"So where are we going?" Grace asked from her spot in the back seat next to Luke.  
  
"It's a surprise. I can't tell you."  
  
"Dude! Just tell me!" Grace exclaimed, annoyed with all the secrecy about it.  
  
"Nope." Joan shook her head and continued down the road.  
  
With a frustrated sigh Grace rested her head against the glass window and closed her eyes.  
  
A little over an hour later they arrived at the lake. Joan put on the emergency break then looked at Adam. "We're here."  
  
"The lake?"  
  
"Some surprise Joan." Luke muttered, climbing out of the back seat to stretch his legs.  
  
"Shut up." Joan snapped back at him before getting out of the car. Adam followed soon after and snaked an arm around her waist from behind.  
  
"We're supposed to go swimming?" Adam asked resting his chin on her shoulder.  
  
"Yeah." Joan told him leaning back into his chest.  
  
"Uh, Jane, I don't have my swim trunks."  
  
"And I don't have my swimsuit either. still can swim." She smiled slightly.  
  
"Skinny dipping? Adam whispered against her ear causing her to laugh.  
  
"Ah! No! Bra and underwear work just the same."  
  
"But I don't have a bra." Adam pouted a little and Joan smiled.  
  
"I think that's okay." Joan stepped out of his arms and grabbed his hand and tugged him down to the shore.  
  
Luke shook his head and then glanced at Grace who was still in the car. Slowly she climbed out. Her arms stretched up over her head, causing her shirt to rise and expose her toned stomach. Then she glanced around at her surroundings and her eyes focused on the lake.  
  
"Whose bright idea was it to come here?" Grace asked loudly.  
  
Joan looked up with a smile. "Mine."  
  
"I don't do lakes. I'll be in the car." Seconds later Grace was back in the car, and the door slammed behind her.  
  
Joan frowned and looked at Adam. "What was that about?"  
  
"Grace uh. she almost down a while back. at a lake. She doesn't even take baths anymore. She won't go near pools of water that she could fit into."  
  
"Oh." Joan bit her lip and then she watched as Luke walked back to the car and climbed in the back seat again. Maybe this was what God wanted. She didn't know. She never knew. "Would it be bad friends of us if we still went swimming? While she's in the car?"  
  
"She's got Luke with her." Adam smirked and brushed a soft kiss against Joan's lips.  
  
Luke sat in the car, and glanced at Grace who had her head tipped back and her eyes closed. "Why aren't you swimming?" Grace asked suddenly, tearing through the silence.  
  
"Thought you could use some company." She lifted her head up and stared out the window at the water. "Do you want to talk about it?" Luke offered and she shook her head.  
  
"No. Nothing to talk about." Grace sighed and let her eyes slip shut. "When I was nine I nearly drowned. Adam and his parents always would go on a trip near the end of the summer, and usually they took me with them. We were camping. near a lake. Every day we'd go down to swim. Adam and I always ran ahead of his parents. they told us to wait on the shore till they got there, so we did.  
  
Then one day, we ran ahead like usual. but there were some older guys there. like seventeen eighteen or something. They pushed me in. I wasn't a very good swimmer. And there was no gradual decline into the water; it was just a straight drop off. They guys took off, and I remember Adam trying to get to me. yelling for help. and then I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. I woke up in the hospital a few days later." Grace glanced over at Luke. "I haven't been near any body of water since. Showers are it for me."  
  
Luke watched Grace as she spoke; surprised she was willingly telling him so much. "Come on."  
  
"What?" Grace asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You're gonna go out there and swim."  
  
"No. I'm not. In case you just missed story time. I don't swim. I don't like water."  
  
"Well I'm going to help you. Come on, I won't make you go any farther than you want to. Just come and at least get your feet wet. Can't stay afraid of the water forever. Plus, after a while I think it would get boring sitting in the car all alone."  
  
Grace narrowed her eyes at him, then relented. She had no intentions of stepping more than her little toe into that water. But if it would shut him up, she'd go. She climbed out of the car, tossing her leather jacket into the seat behind her.  
  
Then Luke followed her. Five feet away from the water Grace froze, and just stood there staring at it. She glanced around and saw a pile of clothes, and then on the other side of the small edge of the lake Adam and Joan were splashing each other between kisses.  
  
Luke pulled his shirt over his head, and then kicked off his shoes, and stripped down to his boxers. He walked towards the water and looked back at Grace. "Come on Grace."  
  
"No. I can't." She took a step backwards and Luke quickly moved to stop her. He grasped her hand in his and pulled her closer.  
  
"Yeah, you can." Slowly he pulled her towards the water, and then stopped when it reached his ankles. Grace stood just on the edge. Her shoes not touching the water. "Take your shoes off at least."  
  
Grace stepped back and then leaned against a large rock and pulled off her shoes and her socks. Then she bit her lip. Could she actually get into the water? Without having a nervous breakdown? She'd try at least. Luke was so persuasive, like he really wanted to help. So she took a breath, tugged her shirt over her head, and then let her jeans slip down her legs. She folded them neatly and set them on the rock before moving back over to the edge of the water where Luke stood staring at her.  
  
"Stop gawking at me." She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to shield her body from his eyes.  
  
"Give me your hands." Grace swallowed hard, and gradually reached her hands out towards Luke's. He wrapped his fingers around her hands and gave her a little tug, pulling her even closer.  
  
"Luke." Grace's voice came out soft, and tainted with fear.  
  
"I won't let anything happen to you." He told her gently. She stared down at the ground, and Luke touched her chin, bringing her gaze up to meet his. "I promise you I won't let anything happen to you."  
  
Grace liked her lips and nodded; then at a snail's pace she took a small step forward. Luke kept his grasp on one of her hands, while he let the other slide down to rest on her hip. "Just trust me Grace." He told her, drawing her closer as he continued to take steps back, sinking himself deeper into the water.  
  
When the water reached Grace's stomach her chest was rising and falling quickly, her heart was pounding out of control, and she felt like everything was spinning around her.  
  
Luke watched Grace's face as she stared at his chest blindly. He could see the panic growing on her face, and felt her fingernails digging into his hand.  
  
He took a step closer to her, letting their bodies press together. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he felt her frantically grab onto his shoulders. "I told you that you could do it."  
  
"I'm not doing anything. I'm standing waist deep in freezing cold water." She shuddered and held onto him tighter.  
  
"Water would be the key word in that phrase." Luke pressed his lips against her forehead. "You're in the water. albeit terrified."  
  
"I'm not terrified. I'm absolutely petrified." Luke chuckled softly and smoothed his fingers over the small of Grace's back. Trying to sooth her, to relax her.  
  
"But you're here." He eased her a little father out into the water and Grace let out a quiet gasp.  
  
"No, Luke!"  
  
"It's okay. I've got you. I won't let you go. Just trust me Grace." Slowly Grace lifted her head up to meet his eyes.  
  
"Promise?" Luke smiled and nodded.  
  
"I promise." Grace closed her eyes and nodded, and let Luke pull her deeper into the lake. "Just hold onto me." He murmured softly. When the water reached their chests he let one hand slid down from her waist, and he heard Grace whimper. "Hold onto me." He told her again and slid his hand under her legs, lifting her up in his arms.  
  
She was practically weightless in his arms. She opened her eyes and tipped her head back. Grace saw Luke's smiling face as he rocked her, and then spun her around in a circle, completely supporting her feather light body.  
  
Joan sat back against Adam's chest on the shore, absorbing the sunny rays, and watching Luke and Grace. "I can't believe he did it." Adam said in wonder.  
  
"Hmm I can." Joan smiled and tipped her head back to kiss Adam softly.  
  
---  
  
Several hours later, Luke and Grace sat in the back seat, asleep while Joan headed for home. Adam smiled at her and she smiled back. "Today was good."  
  
"Very good."  
  
Joan looked back at the road and saw a deer standing in the middle of the road. She slammed on the breaks, and the car swerved. Then she screamed as it flew off the road, and flipped several times before landing upside down in the river.  
  
Grace woke up to the sound of screeching tires, and a scream. She gasped for breath and water filled her lungs. She felt herself being pulled, and then seconds later she could breathe again and in the dim twilight she swam for the shore.  
  
After glancing around panicked, she realized that she was the only one that was out of the car. The car was already halfway under the swift moving current. Without a second thought she dove back in. Her window had been open.  
  
She remembered Luke's was closed because his head was resting against it. She held onto the car tightly, but the water was cold, and already the tips of her fingers were numb. Grace pulled herself inside, and tried to see through the dark water. She felt a hand. And saw the faint outline of Luke's lifeless body.  
  
Her lungs screamed for air. Her frozen fingers pulled at his seatbelt. She hadn't been wearing hers, because she was leaning across the seat to rest her head on Luke's chest. Grace yanked and pulled at the unyielding seatbelt.  
  
Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see. She couldn't breath. Her mind flashed back to her near drowning experience, but all she cared about was getting Luke, Adam, and Joan out of the car.  
  
But the urge to breath was too strong. Her mouth opened, and she tried to gasp in a breath of air, but all she got was water. She coughed, and gagged and still pulled at the seatbelt, until she slipped unconscious.  
  
"Adam!" Joan yelled, gripping the side of the car. Somehow she managed to get out through her window. A second later his head popped up from the other side of the overturned car. A smile passed over her face for a split second. "Where are Grace and Luke?!"  
  
Both took in a breath, then dove back into the icy water. Joan tried to push herself through the back seat's window, but realized Grace was laying there, halfway inside the car. She grabbed onto her friends legs and pulled, trying to get her out of the car, but she wasn't moving.  
  
Joan came up to breathe and saw Adam moving around to her side of the car. "Well?"  
  
"I can't get Grace out!" Both dove back under, and together they pulled. Seconds later Joan was pulling Grace to shore while Adam dove back in to try and get Luke out.  
  
---  
  
Grace laid in a hospital bed, fitfully tossing and turning. She shot straight up quickly, gasping for breath, and looking around hysterically. Then she saw Luke walking towards her. "Luke." She breathed. "I.I tried and I couldn't and I."  
  
"I know." Luke stood at the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around her. "I hit my head when the car rolled, and then you passed out trying to unhook my seatbelt." He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her temple.  
  
"How did we get out?"  
  
"Adam and Joan got out and then managed to get us out. Luckily Adam had a pocket knife on him. That's how he got through my seatbelt." Grace nodded and rested her head against his chest.  
  
"They're okay?"  
  
"A few minor scrapes and bruises are all. You okay?" Luke asked looking down at her face.  
  
"I almost couldn't do it. for a second it ran through my mind. the fear of drowning. But I couldn't let that happen to you."  
  
"Thank you." Luke stroked his fingers over her cheek. "But I think we should stay away from water for a while now." Grace let out a strangled laugh and wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes.  
  
--- The End --- 


End file.
